2026 Book Club Picks

It’s 2026—a new year of reads for your book club(s)—and Borrow. Read. Repeat. is here to help take the guesswork out of planning your next pick (or two, or three).

Featuring captivating nonfiction, historical fiction, thrillers, and more—there’s a little something on this list for every kind of book club.

For more reading recs, check out our list of 26 Books to Read in 2026
and complete collection of Book Club Brochures

For the Book Club That Doesn’t Trust Anyone

Anatomy of an Alibi, now available

Ashley Elston

*A LibraryReads Pick*

Two women. One dead husband. And only one alibi.

“In Anatomy of an Alibi, Ashley Elston expertly unravels a web of secrets and lies in a small southern town. You won’t know who to trust, and you won’t be able to put this excellent thriller down until the final shocking page.”—Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author of All the Missing Girls

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Heap Earth Upon It, available 2/3

Chloe Michelle Howarth

In this follow-up to the award-winning Sunburn, a claustrophobic tale of obsession, family, and identity.

Gothic, lush, and suspenseful, Chloe Michelle Howarth spins a tangled web that leaves you wondering who to trust until the very last page.

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For the Book Club Ready to Tackle Powerful & Moving Fiction

The Shape of Dreams, available 2/3

April Reynolds

A trio of women bond in friendship as a neighborhood tries to seek justice from a system that has forgotten them.

“A powerful prayer, a novel that indicts the injustice for which there is no quick solution . . . [It is] a song of furor and tenderness that will leave its mark.”—Walter Mosley, bestselling author of the Easy Rawlins series

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The Things We Never Say, available 5/5

Elizabeth Strout

Pulitzer Prize–winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Strout’s new novel tells the story of a chance incident that sparks a powerful realization in a beloved teacher’s life—a poignant meditation on loneliness, friendship, parenthood, and the importance of truth in a capsizing world.

Elizabeth Strout, as we have come to expect, delivers a moving exploration of the human condition—one that brims with compassion for each and every one of her indelible characters. With exquisite prose and profound insight, The Things We Never Say takes one man’s fears and loneliness and makes them universal. And in the same breath, captures the abiding love that sustains and holds us all.

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For the Book Club Fascinated by the Family Dynamic

Abundance, available 5/5

Hafeez Lakhani

Two generations of a Muslim Indian family grapple with what parts of life we control and what we must humbly accept in pursuit of the American dream—for readers of Min Jin Lee, Mohsin Hamid, and Ayad Akhtar.

“How beautifully, wisely, and immersively Hafeez Lakhani writes about the profound sacrifices we endure—and the joys we strive for—when we set out to make a family and a home. This story broke my heart and then made it wonderfully whole again.” —Julia Glass, National Book Award–winning author of Vigil Harbor and Three Junes

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Mercy Hill, available 5/5

Hannah Thurman

A debut family novel about four sisters growing up on the campus of the underfunded state mental hospital where their strong-willed mother serves as head of psychiatry. A richly moving story of sisterhood, loyalty, and mental health in America.

“Hannah Thurman’s debut novel knocked me for a loop, and trust me, it will do the same to you. A slow burn, Mercy Hill—both the place and the people who live there—will stay with you long after you put the book down.”—Richard Russo, author of Empire Falls and the North Bath trilogy of Fool novels

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The Pillagers’ Guide to Arctic Pianos, available 5/12

Kendra Langford Shaw

For readers of Karen Russell, Maggie Shipstead, and Eowyn Ivey, an exuberant, highly imaginative epic about a family that settles, against all odds, in the far reaches of the Arctic and the unexpected industry that keeps them afloat for generations.

“A vividly imagined generational saga bursting with bold adventure and bottomless hope. Kendra Langford Shaw brilliantly evokes an unforgettable cast of dreamers, trailblazers, and pillagers on a quest for home in the luminous but brutal wilderness, where they all must discover that the real treasure is each other. A wholly original, utterly absorbing debut. I loved it.”—Shelley Read, bestselling author of Go As a River

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For the Book Club Rooting for the Strong Female Protagonist(s)

The Jills, available 2/10

Karen Parkman

In this propulsive debut, a Buffalo Bills cheerleader will stop at nothing to solve the disappearance of her best friend and teammate, navigating the dark underbelly of a hardscrabble city, the grime and glamour of professional cheerleading, and her own tangled family history.

“A nuanced, incisive exploration of the world of NFL cheerleading—and the complex power of sisterhood, both familial and chosen. Perfect for fans of thoughtful thrillers like Liz Moore’s Long Bright River, The Jills is an observant page-turner with heart.”—Chloe Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Immortalists

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The Take, available 4/14

Kelly Yang

A provocative, fast-paced novel about two creative women—a young writer fighting to be heard and an older producer clinging to relevancy—and the age reversal treatment that intertwines both of their lives . . . from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the beloved Front Desk series.

Would you sell your youth for $3 million?

“An exhilarating read about literal and figurative succubuses that sucks you into the dysfunctional spiral of two women who are desperate to change their lives—fast-paced, fun and fantastically unhinged!”—Eve J. Chung, bestselling author of Daughters of Shandong

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For the Nostalgic Book Club

You & Me and You & Me and You & Me, available 2/10

Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees

Meet Adam and Jules. Married for nearly twenty-five years and stuck in a rut, their future looks, well, boring. Then Adam stumbles across a box of old mixtapes he and Jules made for each other when they were young and falling in love. He dusts off his vintage stereo, inserts one of the cassettes, presses “Play” . . . and the unbelievable happens.

“A grown-up love story that captures the beauty of not only finding your person but holding on to them. Throw in some time travel, great music, and ’90s nostalgia, and you have an unforgettable read.”—Laurie Gilmore, #1 New York Times bestselling author

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American Fantasy, available 4/7

Emma Straub

From New York Times bestselling author of This Time Tomorrow, an irresistible story about what happens when your teenage fantasy comes true after you’re already an adult.

“I can hardly remember the last time I read anything that brought me such pure joy. I was up too late reading, then got up too early to go back to reading. All I wanted was American Fantasy. It brims with truth and humanity and insight, and it made me snort like a pig. I loved it. I think the entire country will love it.”—Ann Patchett, #1 New York Times bestselling author

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For Book Clubs That Can’t Resist a Sweeping Love Story

Laws of Love and Logic, available 2/17

Debra Curtis

A stunning debut novel from Jenna Bush Hager’s New Venture, Thousand Voices
A woman finds herself torn between her first love and her devoted husband in this extraordinary debut novel that asks the question: Can one heart hold two great loves?

“At once sweeping and intimate, Laws of Love and Logic is a gorgeous meditation on roads not taken. Debra Curtis is not afraid to explore big questions about love and loss, but always with tenderness.”—Shelby Van Pelt, New York Times bestselling author of Remarkably Bright Creatures

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For the Book Club That Loves a Retelling

Cleopatra, available 2/24

Saara El-Arifi

Cleopatra tells her own story in this evocative and sensuous historical epic from the bestselling and award-winning author of Faebound and The Final Strife.

“Enchanting, smart, and subversive—this is El-Arifi’s masterpiece.”—R.F. Kuang, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Katabasis

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The Beheading Game, available 3/24

Rebecca Lehmann

Disgraced. Beheaded. And out for revenge . . .

We all know what happened to Henry VIII’s second wife, Anne Boleyn. But what if she woke up the day after her execution and took it upon herself to seek justice?

“Fabulous! A marvelously inventive and mythic reworking of the story of Anne Boleyn. I loved it.”—Kelly Link, author of The Book of Love

“Magic, romance, revenge, and an utterly irresistible heroine—this book is an instant classic.”—Lev Grossman, author of The Bright Sword

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For the Nonfiction Book Club

Small Town Girls, available 4/21

Jayne Anne Phillips

A luminous memoir in essays from the Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist, who reflects on her origins and the mysteries of memory.

“The painful thing about adolescence is that everything seems absolute, and the painful thing about adulthood is that nothing does.”

“A brilliant, wide-ranging book, nostalgic and tough-minded at the same time. Like Willa Cather and Stephen Crane, Jayne Anne Phillips writes prose that reads like plainspoken poetry, full of startling and vivid images that bring a vanished world back to life before our eyes.”—Tom Perrotta, author of The Leftovers

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The Housewives Underground, available 6/23

Kaitlyn Tiffany

The remarkable untold story of a network of amateur researchers who debunked the Warren Report, raising questions about JFK’s assassination that remain unanswered to this day—a riveting history of obsession, heartbreak, and the myth of the great American century from an Atlantic staff writer.

“Kaitlyn Tiffany masterfully unspools a hidden history of the Kennedy assassination and its aftermath, in what amounts to a cautionary tale for our time . . . So interesting and so well told.”—Liza Mundy, New York Times bestselling author of Code Girls and The Sisterhood

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For the Horror Book Club

Trad Wife, available 2/10

Saratoga Schaefer

*A LibraryReads Pick*

A “traditional wife” influencer allows a demonic creature to impregnate her in this unnerving horror novel, perfect for fans of Nightbitch and Mary, from the author of Serial Killer Support Group.

Every #tradwife needs a baby. She’ll get one at any cost.

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For the Book Club That Loves a Comeback Story

All Carry, available 3/31

Gene Wojciechowski

A recently laid-off golf reporter. A down-on-his-luck caddie. And a magical set of clubs once owned by Jack Nicklaus. In this funny, feel-good novel, New York Times bestselling author and former ESPN reporter Gene Wojciechowski gives us a pair of unlikely champions unlike any other.

“This wonderful tale is for all lovers of golf, especially the weekend hackers with embarrassing handicaps (like me). Now we have hope. If we can just find the magic clubs.”—John Grisham

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For the Book Club Looking to Uncover a Mystery Series

The Star from Calcutta, available 3/3

Sujata Massey

A movie censor murdered, a leading lady vanished—the glamour, romance, and intrigue of the beginnings of Bollywood come to vivid life in the thrilling new installment of the Perveen Mistry historical mystery series.

“A lush and leisurely period mystery with a proto-feminist heroine . . . Massey, who’s generous in her historical color, devotes equal attention to Perveen’s singular life and the tangled whodunit [and] Massey’s tale moves with stately elegance to its complex solution.”—Kirkus Reviews

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